Fertő-Hanság National Park

Fertő-Hanság National Park Directorate institute manages the protected areas of national importance in the county of Győr-Moson-Sopron. From the slopes of the Bakony Mountains to the Sopron Mountains, from the Danube to the meadows and oak forests in the Rábaköz region, this area preserves natural beauty, several protected landscapes and also ones worth for protection.

Together with the joint Austrian national park our national park is an area acknowledged by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) since 1991. The park is managed according to conservation zones the core of which is Lake Fertő, the westernmost Eurasian steppe lake. Due to its outstanding fauna and flora the Hungarian part of the Lake Fertő became a landscape protection area in 1977, whereas the Hanság in 1976.

In 1979 the area was announced a Biosphere Reserve by the UNESCO-MAB program, from 1989 on it is a Ramsar site. Its international importance is underlined by the fact that the entire Fertő region, together with the Hungarian and Austrian national parks, embraced by the shoreline settlements received the title World Heritage form the UNESCO World Heritage Convention in 2001.

Our Directorate is the institute supervising and managing from the conservationist point of view, conducting research on and introducing to visitors this wonderful piece of Hungarian landscape.

Beside the national park we do the conservation work in the Pannonhalma Landscape Protection Area, the biggest cultural heritage of which is the Benedictine Abbey, a world heritage site itself.

In the Szigetköz Landscape Protection Area we work to save the floodplain flora and fauna of the led off Danube. The maintenance and management of the Sopron Mountains Landscape Protection Area which represents a special natural value is also our task.

The conservation of protected parks, botanical gardens, marshes, saline habitats, Kun-hills and earth castles is also the concern of our Directorate.

Introducing the natural treasures and the active conservation work is the subject of our site. We hope You will be satisfied by and profit from it.

Őrség National Park

In the southwest corner of Vas County you can find this wonderful land with forests and meadows where guardians were settled during the Hungarian conquest. Its name derives from these: Őrség (in English: Guard or Watch post).

Since 1st March 2002 the Őrség National Park Directoate has been supervising the preservation of natural, ethnographical, culture-historical values which can be found on this wonderful land. The Őrség National Park consists of the Őrség, Vend country, the unregulated valley of River Rába, the Inner-Őrség and the neighbourhood of Szentgyörgy Valley. All together it covers 44 townships, on about 44.000 acres, whereof 3086 acres are particularly protected. The whole territory of the national park is a Natura 2000 area under European Union-wide Protection.

This land is the westernmost part of our country, where hills and valleys engraved by brooks, deciduous forests and pinewoods, fresh and green meadows, marshlands preserving plants from the ice age, and crystal clean spring-heads and brooks vary. The silence and the fresh air, the cultural traditions and customs what are reserved in an unchanged way, the goods of the self-supportive peasant farming attract the visitors.

Due to the high annual precipitation this area is rich in springs and brooks. One of the most significant rivers of the territory is the Zala (Szala), which springs north from Szalafő and flows through the Őrség. The other one is the Kerka joining into River Mura. On the North border of the National Park mainly the River Rába flows which is rough water, uncontrolled river.

63% of the Őrség is covered by woods and forests, which is 3,5 times more than the nationwide average, in this way their nature protection, economic and landscape forming role is determinative.

The remains of the cold climate after the ice-age are the sphagnum moors and moor fields, in the Őrség and Vend-country can be found the most of these in the country. Due to the much residue and high precipitation this area is the richest in mushrooms nationwide. You can find the delicious bolete, yellow chanterelle and various species of russula. Beside the well-known mushroom species real specialities can be found as well, as the Hygrocybe and Hygrophorus fungus which is the peculiarity of the Alps.

The fauna shows a variable picture as well. The richest butterfly fauna of the country live in this territory. On the land you can meet all the twelve frog species and all the four tailed amphibian (newt) species of Hungary here. Along the larger waters the strictly protected otter can be found. The valuable bird species of the countryside are the black stork, the honey-buzzard, the corncrake, the blue pigeon, the crossbill, the bullfinch and the firecrest. The game population is significant as well, wild-boar, roe and red deer also occurs there.

Őrség is also rich in folk architectural and cultural-historical relics. The settlement structure shows a unique picture, these are the so-called ‘szeres’ settlements. The ‘szerek’ are groups of houses built on the hill top, which structure comes from the time of Hungarian conquest. The most well-known house types are the smoky-kitchen houses, furthermore the so called rounded houses. These buildings can be seen at their original place and environment in Szalafő-Pityerszer at the Őrség Folk Monument Ensembles. Belfries also count as folk architecture masterpieces.

The Vend-country is characterized by the so-called sparse settlement structure. Wonderful examples for this are Kétvölgy, Orfalu and Apátistvánfalva settlements.

Building stone castles was not typical in the historical Őrség, the medieval fortress-type churches took over their role. Őriszentpéter and Velemér ancient monument churches are nice examples for these relics.

Balaton-Uplands National Park

An old dream of the Hungarian nature conservation came true in 1997: a protected ecological system embracing the adjoining area of the Balaton Uplands was established with the connection of the already protected areas which had been separate for a long time. The area of 56 997 hectares of the Balaton-felvidéki National Park mainly consists of these six landscape protection areas.Among its regions Kis-Balaton is also protected by the international Ramsar Convention, serving the protection of wetland habitats. Tihany Peninsula - as a recognition of its outstanding geological values and the work of nature conservation in that region - was awarded of European Diploma in 2003. The Natura 2000 areas, covering partly the National Park and going beyond its area ensure the possibility of the conservation of habitats, plant and animal species which are of European importance.

The initiative of Bakony-Balaton Geopark - the area of which covers partly the National Park - sets the aim of interpreting the geological, natural and cultural values and awakening the consciousness of their social significance.

The official Internet site of the Balaton Uplands National Park Directorate provides information about the regions, exhibition sites, nature trails and accommodations of the area that belong to the National Park Directorate. The open tours and other programmes, publications, environmental education programmes and the work of our nature conservation experts are outlined on this site and will hopefully help you to get acquainted with this magical world in an understanding and loving way.

The primary objective of the Balaton Uplands National Park is the comprehensive conservation and protection of natural assets and areas. Besides protection it is also important to interpret the beautiful landscapes, living and non-living natural values and to provide possibilities for the present and future generation for learning and relaxing in nature.

These goals can be achieved only with the co-operation of the visitors who show responsible behaviour on the protected areas. Please help us to protect nature, do not disturb the habitats and natural values! Think of the following visitors, who would also like to enjoy the beautiful and intact environment.

Please take special care of the protected and strictly protected plant and animal species, their habitats, and the caves!

Nationalpark Neusiedleersee-Seewinkel

The Neusiedleer See-Seewinkel National Park with its diverse habitats and its high biodiversity is one of the most exciting natural territories in Europe. This territory lasts from the Eastern Alps to the Kisalföld (Hungarian Small Plain) and it is the habitat of many animal and plant species. This ecosystem reveals itself to visitors with all species due to its opened character. The salty, temporarily searing fields (Lacken) and all the other grasslands give a charming insight from the roads or from high-stands on both side of the border.

Besides the high biodiversity thousands of European-African migrant birds visit the Seewinkel (sea angle). The Neusiedler See-Seewinkel National Park is one of the most important mile stone on the way between the brooding and overwintering place.

With maintaining activities based on researches the national park does everything (cutting cane, .etc.) to preserve the territory as home of many endangered animal and plant species. The national park’s Information Centre in Illmitz is open all over the year, where the visitors become aware individually of nature, and take part in programmes which provide insight into the fauna and flora of the Neusiedler See.

Regionalmanagement Burgenland

The services of Regionalmanagement Burgenland are available for all inhabitants of Burgenland.

The activities of Regionalmanagement Burgenland are the following: coordination of EU contributions, territorial cooperation, consulting, creating planning-documentations, implementation of pilot projects, monitoring and evaluating of projects financed by the EU.

The Regionalmanagement Burgenland runs the nature parks in Burgenland, it was the initiator of Nature parks Workgroup and it has been leading the group for seven years.

The Regionalmanagement Burgenland is the lead partner of the PaNaNet project which is implemented in the frames of the Austria – Hungary European Territorial Cooperation Programme 2007-2013.